Kindergarten sections will continue in govt schools: TN Minister

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday informed that kindergarten classes will continue at the state-run schools and said qualified teachers would be posted in adequate numbers to handle the classes.Following requests from several quarters, Chief Minister M K Stalin advised that the LKG and UKG classes be continued in the government schools. Qualified teachers will be posted in adequate numbers to handle the classes, he assured.

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday informed that kindergarten classes will continue at the state-run schools and said qualified teachers would be posted in adequate numbers to handle the classes.

Following requests from several quarters, Chief Minister M K Stalin advised that the LKG and UKG classes be continued in the government schools. Accordingly, the school education department has been instructed to take steps in this direction, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said.

The classes were shifted to the anganwadis attached to about 2,381 government primary and middle schools on a pilot project basis, he said.

During the previous (AIADMK) regime, owing to low intake of students, teachers were deputed to handle the LKG and UKG classes that had more number of students, the Minister claimed.

''But, due to the (DMK) government's efforts in improving the quality of schools, about 7 lakh students got newly enrolled in various classes in the government schools throughout the state last year leading to the addition of 3,000 sections,'' Poyyamozhi said in a statement here.

As the need for teaching faculty rose with the high intake of students, teachers handling LKG and UKG classes were transferred to take classes 1 to 5. Despite this, the government took steps to ensure the kindergarten students continued their education without any let up, the Minister asserted.

However, accepting demands from several quarters that the kindergarten classes should continue at the government schools and based on Chief Minister's advise, the school education department has been appropriately instructed, he said. ''Qualified teachers will be posted in adequate numbers to handle the classes,'' he assured.